before anyone bitches about 'why didnt you do a search, this has been answered a million times' i already did a search and nothing came up.

so im curious, of all the tumbler manufacturers, who makes the quietest one that still performs best?
i had a lyman the last time i was reloading about fifteen years ago and that sucker was loud!!

i would love to find something that is under $125

thanks

bump

Thumbler brand IMHO.

i dont know if any advancements have been made in tumblers over the years or not but i remember my old lyman was one noisy SOB!!

i dont think the noise comes from the contact between machine and floor but the motor itself??

does it pay to buy any of the cheap no name brands that are out for like $30-$40?? i know you get what you pay for but if a cheapo would
last a few years and it died i would throw it out and not feel bad and get another one.

i would love to have quiet but could probably get away with a little noise as i wouldn't have to run it much since
i scored big time savings on a sonic cleaner so i wouldn't have to tumble for very long to get a super shiny finish.

Funny you should ask.  I just got about probably my tenth tumbler last week.  First let me say that if you plan on using it a lot your first question should be what tumblers will actually last. Nothing else is really that important.  I have burnt out just about every tumbler that they sell at midway usa. I just bought a Dillon tumbler and so far have been very impressed. The motor is about 5 times bigger than  any other tumbler that I have ever had.  I can't tell you how many tumblers I have had the motor die on even under warranty and then have the replacement motor die.  Its like they are all crap.  Granted I shoot more than most but I never load them close to the advertised capacity and they still all die

Anyone that uses them a lot will most likely have the same experience.  For years I have been saying that I would much rather pay $50 or so more for a tumbler that has a bigger motor in it.  Finally I may have found it.  The Dillon motor is really much much bigger. I sure hope it will be better. Time will tell.  I give myself a big for not getting a Dillon sooner. I purposely got the CV 750 as it has a smaller capacity but the bigger motor. it was $144 and the other turds I usually buy are about $125.

Just remember that sitting it on a pad, a pad that is noticeably cushioning it from the support surface, can partially negate the operation of the tumbler and make it less effective. So it could end up taking longer to clean the brass if this cushioning is effective. I.E., there is a direct inverse relationship between buffering and effectiveness. While it might not be linear or directly proportional, it still exists.

Mine run on the concrete floor of my garage. That's far enough away that the sound doesn't affect me much. And the environment is still somewhat controlled. Gets kind of hot out there in the summer, but it's still pretty good.

I have the standard size Hornady tumbler and it's not too bad. I also have the big-ass Dillon tumbler. I load it up pretty well and it's noisy as hell.

Probably the best thing you can do is to run a full corn cob media load, and only load the tumbler to about half the specified capacity of brass. That will minimize the metal contact with the plastic tub, while still allowing the media to properly clean it. And cushion the associated noise as well.

Quiet tumbler ??

I put my big DILLON out in the garage and close the door when I walk back into the house  

I have yet to see a quite one.... mine's rattling away in the shop right now... I just set a reminder on my phone to go check on it after a few hours.

tumbling tip:

direct a small fan next to the motor section of the tumbler when using it.

greatly extends motor life .

I just got a Hornady vibrating cleaner and it's way quieter than my Thumler's Mod B Tumbler.

I have two a Midway and a Hornady, like the previous poster the Hornady is much quieter then my Midway.

I have had several tumblers over the years. Last Christmas I bought myself the Dillon and my middle son bought me an RCBS. A friend of mine who was getting out of reloading at the same time gave me his old Ultra Vibe tumbler for a present. Of the three, the Ultra Vibe is the quietest. I've forgotten it was on and left it running overnight several times.

I agree, I used to have a Midway until the motor burned out, replaced it with a Hornady and I think its much quieter. Although it's still loud enough to still be in my garage

If I had to buy again and had more to spend, I would probably end up with a Dillon since they look so nice and I hear nothing bad about them. Or go the wet tumbling route.

im still looking around and have searched other forums and reviews and a lot of people say that the Thumlers are about the quietest around
but also more expensive so its a big trade off for me as my reloading is done in my basement and i don't want to put the machine out in
the garage for convenience sake but i might have to depending on which way i go?

i would build a nice insulated wooden enclosure to put a tumbler in to knock the sound down but with no air flow i think the motor would have
a meltdown a lot faster that way? even if i added a fan the box would need vents and that would defeat the sound deadening?

if Thumlers are so quiet, what makes them that way? why dont other tumblers do it?

It also depends on how much brass you put in the tumbler also.  The more brass the louder, so you could do smaller batches and get it to be a little quieter also.

Same here, so quiet I forget it is running.








 

I but the big Dillon 16' away but have 2 interior wall between it and me. night and day difference then when I had a Midway unit. If $$ wasn't a object I'd replace it with a Burr King in a flash